Fallen Hero
by blueunicorndust
Summary: The final battle with Ganon goes terribly wrong for Link and Hyrule. Just a quick one-shot!


_This is it. Ganondorf is through that door_, I thought, allowing myself a small break. My right arm was battered and bruised from where my shield had absorbed the Iron Knuckle's sword when it came up behind me. Unfortunately, I had no way to relieve the pain, as I had used my last healing potion when the Dynalfos had cornered me, slashing at me until the ground ran red with my blood. _The bruise can be worked around. Blood loss, not so much._

"Link, are you okay?" my fairy partner Navi asked, clearly concerned over my condition. _How couldn't she be? _I thought cynically. My green tunic was torn to shreds, and was closer to brown with all the dried blood on it. _Whatever they put in those potions is amazing. I should have bled out at least ten times._

"I'm fine. I just need to catch my breath before facing Ganondorf," I replied. _And honestly...I'm scared. I might be the holder of the Triforce of Courage, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared shitless of facing the King of Evil._

Navi sat on my shoulder. She could most likely guess what I was thinking, given what we've been through. "I don't know exactly what's going through your head right now," she started. "But...I want you to know this. I'm so proud of how far you've come. You might say that you had no choice, but you did. You could have given up at any point. But you never did. You started as a lazy boy I had to force out of bed, and now...you're about to be the hero of Hyrule, Link! I know you'll be able to defeat him!"

I couldn't help but smile. Despite how annoying she could be sometimes, she's also a wonderful friend. "Thanks, Navi. I appreciate that." I got up and started towards the door. "I think it's time to become a hero."

I lifted up the door and walked into the room. The door slammed shut behind me, and I couldn't help but gape at the sight before me. Zelda was still trapped in that pink crystal. Ganondorf was sitting at an organ, playing music. _Really? I'm about to kill the bastard and he's practicing on an organ?!_ I glanced back to Zelda. She seemed to be saying something, but I couldn't hear her through the damn music. What I did notice, however, were the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation throughout my body, and a burning sensation on my left hand. I glanced down and saw what appeared to be a Triforce symbol appearing out of nowhere, with the bottom right piece glowing. My body felt rejuvenated. _Is this the work of the Goddesses?_ I was so busy wondering about this that I didn't notice the music had stopped until _he _spoke.

"The Triforce parts are resonating… They are combining into one again. The two Triforce parts that I could not capture on that day seven years ago… I didn't expect they would be hidden within you two!" He laughed after this statement. _What the hell is so funny?_ "And now, finally, all the Triforce parts have gathered here!" _Oh. Shit._

"They may be gathered here, but you'll never take them!" I responded forcefully. "I'll never let you win. The Goddesses will protect me!" _I hope._

He laughed again, and finally turned to face me. "It's too late, boy. I already have the Triforce of Wisdom." I could feel his hatred as I looked into his glowing eyes, but I would never back down. _This is my fate_. He sneered at me. "These toys are too much for you! I command you to return them to me!" As he said this, the same Triforce mark appeared on his right hand, with the top and bottom left pieces glowing. _Double shit._

A wave of darkness surrounded me. It felt like my soul was being sucked out. _There's no way I can fight this!_ But it seemed my own Triforce piece had its own tricks. Light flowed through my veins, dispelling the darkness.

Ganondorf, frowned. "Clearly, we're going to have to do this the hard way." He expelled another wave of darkness, destroying our surroundings and that stupid organ. _Good_. He sent a wave of energy into the ground, and I felt it rumble beneath my feet.

"Link, quick, he's destroying the floor!" Navi yelled. "Get to a safe place!"

I hauled ass to a corner of the room that looked stable, just to get knocked down by one of Ganondorf's attacks. My back felt raw from it. _So that's how he wants to do this, huh?_

He summoned another attack, something that appeared to be a ball of light. _Really? Just like his puppet from the Forest Temple?_ He flung it at me, and I parried it. Ganondorf wasn't expecting this, and was stunned by his own attack. I pulled out my light arrows and nailed him with one. I jumped over the gaps in the floor and approached. I slashed at him with the Master Sword, blood flying everywhere. _So he _can _be killed._ He flung me away with a burst of magic, and I barely grabbed onto a ledge before plummeting.

"Don't think it ends so easily, boy!" he taunted, gathering another attack. But this one was different. He clearly learned his lesson. He summoned the light in the room to him, leaving me blind to what he was doing. Suddenly I was knocked off my feet, clenching my teeth in pain as my raw back slid across the floor.

Navi materialized beside me. "Link, he's shooting orbs of darkness at you! Try reflecting them with a spin attack!"

I decided to heed her advice. I charged up a spin attack, feeling magic radiating through my sword. Instinctively, or by the help of the Goddesses, I knew when to release my pent up energy, and heard him groan in agony. I let another arrow fly towards the direction sound, and my aim was true. Light came back to the room, and I once again made my way to him. I slashed, watching more blood escape, but I knew I had to end this. I raised the Master Sword above my head, and I pierced his heart.

Ganondorf let out another agonized groan, and tried to get up to keep fighting me, but it was no use. Blood flowed out around the sword, and he collapsed to the ground once and for all. As his power left him, the walls around us crumbled, and I could feel the tower shaking.

Zelda appeared next to me, free of her crystal. Her eyes were still red from crying earlier, but she had a determined look on her face. "Link, we need to get out of here! With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of the tower! We need to hurry and escape!"

I took her hand and started running towards the stairs. "You don't need to tell me twice, princess!" Already, the place was falling apart, and chunks of the stairs were missing. I leapt over the gaps first, making sure I was there to catch her if she fell. Chunks of the structure were falling around us, and I sent up a silent prayer that we wouldn't be brained.

We made it to the room where I originally fought the Dynalfos when five Stalfos sprung from the ground. _You have to be fucking kidding me_. I made sure Zelda stayed behind me while I fought these goons off. _It's a good thing I've fought hundreds of these guys, or this would probably be the room we die in._

After turning the Stalfos into a stationary pile of bones, we continued making our way through the tower. It was now burning, and instead of regular chunks of the ceiling coming at us, they were now _burning _chunks. We had a few close calls, and both of us got singed. The exit was finally in sight, though! I put on an extra burst of speed, and made sure I had a firm grip on her hand.

We ran through the opening, and not a moment too soon. We could hear crashing, and as we turned around, we could see the tower sinking into itself.

I turned to her, and smiled. "We did it, Zelda."

She smiled back, those beautiful blue eyes twinkling. "It's over. It's finally over."

Without thinking, I hugged her. "It is. We can finally have peace in Hyrule." _And maybe I can lead a normal life for once!_

We stood there in each others arms for a few minutes, letting the reality of everything that had happened sink in. She was the only one who could truly understand everything that had happened to me, and I her. Our friends were either dead or in the Sacred Realm as Sages. We only had each other.

I pulled away first. "Come on, let's get out of here. I feel like his evil is still lingering."

"I agree," Zelda responded. "Let's go to Kakariko. I know Impa has a house there that we can use." I took her hand once again and started leading us away when there was a crashing sound behind us. Navi flew up from under my hat, where she was doing her best to be unobtrusive, to check it out.

"Do you see anything, Navi?" I called. _It must have been the rubble settling_.

She flew back down to us. "No, just the remains of the tow-"

She was interrupted as Ganondorf burst from the rubble. _Fuck me_. The stab wound I killed him with, or _thought_ I killed him with, was no longer bleeding. His eyes were filled with rage.

"It's going to take more than that, _hero_," he yelled. "As long as I hold the Triforce of Power and Wisdom, you cannot kill me!"

"Zelda, get back. I don't want him to hurt you," I commanded her. I approached Ganondorf, drawing my blade. "And as long as I have the Master Sword, I can fight you!" I shouted at him, hoping it was true.

Ganondorf yelled something incomprehensible, and a dark light enveloped him. I backed up a few paces. "Zelda, what's happening?"

"He's transforming! The Triforce of Power has consumed him. He's no longer Ganondorf, the Gerudo thief. He's now Ganon, the embodiment of evil!" she responded.

As the darkness around him dissipated, I could see the effects of this transformation. In front of me was a twisted creature, towering well above me. It had two horns that could skewer at least five fat gorons each, and hooves that could crush me into dust. In its hands were two sharp blades, each as long as I was tall. Ganon finally saw me, and started swinging. I deflected the first hit with my shield, but it finally had all it could bear, and broke upon the second impact of Ganon's sword. Out of options, I did my best to deflect Ganon's swords with the Master Sword, but I lost my grip on it. Ganon sent it flying towards Zelda, who thankfully dodged out of the way.

I dodged backwards, trying to avoid those swords. I knew I couldn't survive getting hit by one of those more than once, if once at all. I tried to make my way towards the Master Sword, but Ganon was having none of that. A ring of fire appeared, separating me from Zelda and my sword. _Shit. I shouldn't have taunted him._ I reached for my bow and light arrows, hoping they would still work.

"Link, I'll fly above his head so you know where to aim!" Navi shouted, seeing what I had in mind.

"No, Navi, don't, it's too dangerous!" I cried, not wanting to see her get hurt.

"I'll be fine, Link, I promise. Just take Ganon down!" She flew off before I had a chance to stop her. _Or before her courage could leave her._

As much as I hated to admit it, Navi proved to be very useful. The flickering from the fire made it difficult to see what I was aiming at, not to mention that Ganon's height. Trying to get a clear shot was nigh impossible, and I didn't want to waste the few light arrows I had left. I kept dodging, waiting for the perfect moment to shoot, when Ganon got one of his swords stuck in the rubble. Navi flew in front of his face, giving me a target. I lined up my shot, and made a direct hit. Ganon stumbled back, disoriented.

The game of cat and mouse began once more. I kept dodging, waiting for Ganon to make a mistake. This time, his big hooves got stuck in the rubble, and I once again shot. Unfortunately, when he regained his senses this time, he knew what Navi and I were doing. As I dodged, he pretended to be stuck, and once again, Navi flew in front of his face. Only this time, Ganon hit her with the broad side of his sword into the fire on the edge of our battleground.

"Navi! _No!" _I cried, feeling helpless for the first time..well, ever, since I had started this journey. Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes. The one person...fairy, who had been with me through all this bullshit. Gone. Just like that. _You promised you'd be fine. You've never lied before._

I shot a light arrow, not thinking, and sorely missed. I needed a new strategy, and fast. I missed Navi, but the time for grieving was not now. I pulled a deku nut out of the pouch I kept on my belt, and tossed it in front of Ganon. The pig was stunned from the flash, and I managed to land another arrow in his face. This brought him down, and the flames disappeared.

"Link!" Zelda called. "Over here!" I ran towards the sound of her voice, not able to see her through the rubble and smoke. I was glad to see she was still unharmed, and reclaimed my sword from where it landed.

Zelda grabbed my arm. "If you can stun him, I the sages and I can use our combined powers to seal him away in the Sacred Realm."

I looked at her, feeling a new resolve. _I have to protect her_. "Then I'll do my damndest to stun him."

I approached Ganon, and seeing as he was still dazed, I slashed at him with my reclaimed sword. I got cocky and tried to hit him too much, however. He kicked me away with one of those hard hooves. I hit a pillar and felt a crack in my rib cage. I stumbled getting up, coughing up some blood. _Shit. No more cockiness._

I approached Ganon cautiously, waiting to see what he would do. He brought his swords up, intending to swing them down onto me. I waited until the last second, then rolled towards him, dodging his attack. I ran between his legs and slashed at his tail, hoping to cause him harm. Blood dripped onto me from the wounds I was causing, and the beast roared with pain. He tried to stomp me into oblivion, but I quickly jumped and grabbed onto his tail. My broken rib, or possibly ribs, was excruciating, but the adrenaline pumping through me kept me from blacking out. I climbed on top of his tail and kept slicing until I could see the tendons connecting his tail to his body. He howled with pain and collapsed.

I heard Zelda's voice from a distance. "Keep him there, Link! We're about to unleash our power to seal him!"

The beast was not done fighting, however. Powering through his discomfort, Ganon reared up and threw me off, causing me to bash my head on a stone. He whipped around and slashed wildly, stomping around to make sure I could not roll under him again. My vision was blurry, and I was seeing double. He was coming at me with fierce determination. I tried to run, but I kept tripping over rubble.

The tip of one of his swords caught my back, and I cried out in agony. I turned around, feeling blood pour out of me. I tried to deflect his swords with mine once again, but I couldn't tell which Ganon was real, and he landed another blow, this one slicing me open from my right shoulder down to my stomach. _Ah, so that's which side is real._ In a moment of desperation, I lobbed the Master Sword at the Ganon I saw hit me, and it struck him between the eyes.

With the last of my strength, I called out to Zelda. "He's stunned! Finish him!"

I collapsed, feeling my power ebbing. I took one last look at my right hand, at the Triforce that was there, knowing I failed the Goddesses. Only, it was no longer there. A gold light enveloped Ganon, and he started to rise again. _No._ _He got the Triforce of Courage._

Slowly, my pain started disappearing. I tried to get up, thinking I was healed, but I still had no strength. _This is the end of the Hero of Time._ I thought of all the people I met during my journey, the people I helped. It was all for nothing. My breaths were getting shallower, and I could hear Ganon roaring in triumph. It was up to Zelda now to stop Ganon, finish what I couldn't. I felt my eyes close for the final time. The last thing I heard before fading away was Zelda calling for me, her voice tinged with sorrow.

_I'm sorry._


End file.
